OSHA Veteran Scott Ketcham Tapped as Agency’s Deputy Assistant Secretary

• Scott Ketcham will serve as deputy assistant secretary for OSHA, the US Department of Labor announced Friday.
• Ketcham has served in the acting position for the role since December
• He previously served as the directorate of enforcement programs for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• He will join OSHA senior leadership in the Trump administration; no one has yet been named to oversee the agency.
• Ketcham previously served almost 20 years in the field at various OSHA offices, including Alaska, Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Arkansas.
• Erin Gilmore succeeds Ketcham as director of the Directorate of Enforcement Programs, taking on the role in an acting capacity. Most recently, she had served as the directorate’s deputy director.
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Departing OSHA Head Says Heat Rule ‘Not Going Away’ Despite Trump

• Now-departed OSHA head Doug Parker said the agency’s heat rule is “not going to go away” with the arrival of the Trump Administration.
• He told Politico that the long-awaited rule, the first-ever federal protections for people working in extreme heat, was the result of the agency listening to workers.
• Parker resigned from his job at the end of last week.
• Meanwhile, in comments to OSHA last week, state attorneys general and members of Congress defended the agency’s proposed rule to protect workers from the deadly effects of heat waves, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
• One letter from 16 attorneys generals names a number of people who were killed on the job by extreme heat.
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NY Heat Bill Could be Resurrected in New Session

• A New York State bill to protect workers from extreme heat that last year failed to gain enough support could be reintroduced in the legislature’s 2025 session.
• NYCOSH Executive Director Charlene Obernauer said the group is working with lawmakers to re-introduce a version of the TEMP Act this session.
• While OSHA still has guidelines on how businesses should shield workers from heat, she said that advice doesn’t have any teeth without a legal standard to back it up.
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OSHA Joins in Road to Zero Coalition

• OSHA has joined the National Safety Council’s Road to Zero Coalition, a traffic safety alliance focused on eliminating roadway fatalities.
• As a member of the Steering Committee, OSHA will offer key insights and proven solutions to address the leading cause of death on the job – transportation incidents.
• “The most dangerous thing a person can do on the job is get in a vehicle,” said Lorraine Martin, Council president and CEO, and chair of the Road to Zero Coalition.
• “By joining Road to Zero, OSHA strengthens our ability to protect workers both on and off the job. Together, we can create safer roads for everyone – whether they are driving for work or sharing the roads with those who do.”
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